Sarah Nelson Smith

European Legal Director, KFC

Sarah Nelson Smith is the Legal Director at Yum!, the parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, with responsibility for the UK & Ireland. Having trained at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Sarah worked with the US firm Baker Botts in international arbitration, before joining the Yum! legal team in May 2011. She sits on the Pizza Hut Management Team, and leads a small in-house legal department, whilst playing an active role in the global Yum! legal team, comprised of over a hundred lawyers worldwide. Sarah won the title of In House Lawyer of the Year at the 2014 Lawyer Awards, and has spoken publically on, inter alia, franchising and managing and motivating an in-house legal team.